Otonashi awakens only to learn he is dead. A rifle-toting girl named Yuri explains that they are in the afterlife, and Otonashi realizes the only thing he can remember about himself is his name. Yuri tells him that she leads the Shinda Sekai Sensen (Afterlife Battlefront) and wages war against a girl named Tenshi. Unable to believe Yuri's claims that Tenshi is evil, Otonashi attempts to speak with her, but the encounter doesn't go as he intended.

Otonashi decides to join the SSS and battle Tenshi, but he finds himself oddly drawn to her. While trying to regain his memories and understand Tenshi, he gradually unravels the mysteries of the afterlife.

Background

Angel Beats! is an original anime that was created by screenplay writer Jun Maeda and directed by Seiji Kishi. A manga adaptation was later released by Jun Maeda and published by ASCII Media Works in Dengeki G's Magazine. The manga was used as a way to expand on elements of the plot that could not be fitted into the show's original running time. The series has been praised for its integration of music, humor, and action into a plot with deep and powerful themes. The show was chosen as a recommended work by the awards jury of the 18th Japan Media Arts Festival in the year 2014.